Hand underwater holding a pink bucket with fish in the background

Patty Chang and David Kelley, Stray Dog Hydrophobia (still), 2024, courtesy of the artists

LACMA’s 2026 Art + Technology Lab Request for Proposals

February 23, 2026
Joel Ferree, Program Director, Art + Technology Lab

Since its relaunch in 2013, LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab has supported 45 artist projects and hosted more than 121 public programs, fostering ambitious collaborations between artists, technologists, and researchers. From speculative prototypes to fully realized artworks, the Lab has provided artists with the time, resources, and institutional support to explore how emerging technologies shape—and are shaped by—cultural, social, and political forces.

LACMA is pleased to announce the publication of the 2026 Art + Technology Lab Request for Proposals. The open call invites artists to submit proposals for new projects that engage emerging or evolving technologies in critical, imaginative, and experimental ways.

Selected artists will be eligible for awards of up to $50,000, along with in-kind support from the museum and private partners in technology and science. Applications are due Wednesday, April 22, 2026, by 11:59 pm PT.

Expanding the Art + Technology Lab

With the renewed support of Hyundai Motor Company, LACMA is expanding the scope, visibility, and impact of the Art + Technology Lab in the years ahead. Beginning with the 2026 cycle, the Lab will introduce a new programmatic structure designed to foster deeper collaboration, sustained artistic development, and greater public engagement.

Key elements of this expanded framework include:

  • New grant cycles every two years, forming artist cohorts that support 3–5 grant recipients, selected through an open call and supplemented by up to two invitational projects. Invitational grants may respond to recent technological developments or extend the work of past Lab recipients whose projects demonstrated compelling outcomes.
  • A biennial Symposium progress event beginning in 2027, featuring artist demonstrations, performances, talks, and presentations that offer insight into works in development
  • A biennial Demo Day beginning in 2028, showcasing projects completed during the cycle alongside public programs that present new research, artistic strategies, and ideas emerging from the Lab's artistic community. 

Marking a Decade of the Art + Technology Lab

This month, LACMA is also releasing a 10-year anniversary publication celebrating the first decade of the Art + Technology Lab. Featuring essays, thematic overviews, and project highlights from all 45 grant recipients, the volume offers a behind-the-scenes look at how artists have engaged, interpreted, and anticipated emerging technologies across shifting cultural contexts. The publication situates the Lab’s history while pointing toward the questions and possibilities that will shape its next chapter.

Apply now.

Artists working across disciplines and technological approaches are encouraged to apply. The Art + Technology Lab remains committed to supporting proposals that are artist-led, research-driven, and responsive to the complexities of the present moment.

The deadline to apply is Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 11:59 pm PT.


The Art + Technology Lab is presented by


The Art + Technology Lab is made possible by Snap Inc., and Anthropic. 

The Lab is part of a long‑term partnership between Hyundai Motor Company and LACMA that explores the evolving relationship between art and technology.